Texas should offer 4-Star SMU QB commit Keelon Russell

The spring evaluation period has brought numerous 2025 recruits offers from Texas football on the trail in the last four or five weeks. There could be more offers on the way for Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian, with spring visits starting to heat up on the trail after camp started earlier this week.

Among the hottest commodities at the quarterback position on the recruiting trail in the 2025 class, this spring is the highly touted four-star Duncanville product, and SMU Mustangs commit Keelon Russell. Russell has yet to officially receive a Texas offer. But he is someone we have on offer watch for the Longhorns this spring.

Will Texas football offer 4-Star Duncanville QB and SMU commit Keelon Russell this spring?

Since Russell committed to SMU last September, many Power Five schools have not let up in their pursuit of him on the recruiting trail. Schools that are relentlessly pursuing Russell on the recruiting trail for the last six months or so include the Florida Gators, Texas A&M Aggies, UCLA Bruins, and Baylor Bears, among others.

Texas appears to be one of the schools considering throwing its hat in the ring in Russell's recruitment this spring. Horns247 reported last week that Texas has begun considering the idea of taking two quarterback commits in the 2025 class.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns already have one quarterback committed in the 2025 class, Saraland (AL) four-star KJ Lacey.

It sounds like the idea of competing with another blue-chip quarterback for playing time in college doesn't scare Russell at all. This Horns247 reported noted that Russell "wouldn't be opposed to the competition at all" were he to wind up in the Longhorns' 2025 class with Lacey.

For Texas to actually get Rusell in the mix in their 2025 class, though, the staff needs to offer him in the near future. With how many other schools are non-stop pursuing Russell on the recruiting trail in the last few months, Texas would theoretically need to offer him soon if they want a chance to flip his commitment from SMU.

There is serious upside to the Longhorns taking two quarterbacks in the 2025 class, hypothetically assuming one of them was Russell. Of course, we also assume that Lacey is the primary quarterback committed to the Longhorns in the 2025 class that signs with Texas on the dotted line in December.

What Russell brings to the table is a versatile playmaker with elite arm strength and a quick release throwing the football. Russell has one of the best deep balls you'll find in the state of Texas in 6A football this year.

He's had elite playmakers around him at Duncanville in the last few years. Not only does Russell have the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the nation in the 2025 class in the 247Sports Composite in five-star wideout Dakorien Moore, but he also had high-four-star LSU running back commit Caden Durham in the same backfield as him in the last few seasons.

Russell has the arm strength and precision to hit throws in very tight windows. I've been very impressed by his ability to get the ball out quickly and on time to his targets in the receiving game at different levels of the field, as I've watched him in different 7v7 tournaments and live game action at Duncanville in the last two years.

Texas is forming a pipeline on the recruiting trail in DFW at Duncanville

In the last few recruiting cycles, Sarkisian and the Longhorns staff have done a great job recruiting top talent from Duncanville High School in South Dallas. Texas signed a couple of Duncanville blue-chip recruits who were teammates for multiple years with Russell in five-star edge rusher Colin Simmons and four-star defensive lineman Alex January in the 2024 class.

Texas is also still pursuing the aforementioned Moore on the recruiting trail as one of their top in-state priorities at wide receiver in the 2025 class. The connection between Russell and Moore in the passing game in the same offense, especially theoretically in Sarkisian's system, would be special to watch at the next level.

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